When Paul Ruley was young, his family couldn’t afford much in the way of Christmas celebration. So he decided that if he ever could, he would do something to make the holiday a little more special for all his friends and neighbors. These days, this Marion County farmer spends days each year putting up a fantastic holiday light display that has become a seasonal must-see for many.

Covering two acres and employing more than 300,000 lights, Ruley’s display includes giant wreaths and stars, train and helicopter scenes, and the Grinch and other characters. Host Dave Shuffett pays a visit to admire the results and to talk with Paul about how it all came about.

The Ruley farm is on Stringtown Road outside of St. Francis, about 12 miles from Lebanon.

One of the things Steve Henry has been up to since leaving the lieutenant governor’s office in 2003 is turning the house where Rosemary Clooney spent her last years into a museum. In this segment, he and his wife, former Miss America Heather French Henry, show us around the place. And since this is a holiday edition of Kentucky Life, we focus especially on memorabilia from White Christmas, in which Rosemary co-starred with Bing Crosby and Vera-Ellen.

Born and raised in Maysville, Rosemary Clooney found fame as a singer and became a star of radio, television, and films. But she always remained loyal to her Kentucky roots. In 1980, she settled into a house right on the Ohio River (a riverboat landing is just steps from the front door) in the picturesque town of Augusta. After her death in 2002, a foundation was formed to preserve her mementos from her remarkable career. The collection, augmented by gifts from old friends like Bob Hope, documents her years as a “girl singer,” her best-selling recordings, her friendships with Hollywood legends, and her life as a wife and mother. Our tour also includes some comments from Rosie’s brother: journalist, TV host, and author Nick Clooney.

The Rosemary Clooney House opened to the public in October 2005. It is generally open for several hours in the middle of the day; call ahead for exact schedules.

Supplying the music for this holiday edition are some members of the Heartland Dulcimer Club, based at the First Presbyterian Church in Elizabethtown. This group of dedicated amateurs gets together year ’round to play dulcimers and other traditional instruments, both informally and for concert events. The club’s aims are to preserve the sounds and traditions of the instruments themselves, to educate the community on this aspect of our musical heritage—and, of course, to have a lot of fun playing music together.

This holiday “music video” features several tunes accompanied by Christmas and wintertime scenes from around the state. Kentucky Life previously visited with several members of the Heartland Dulcimer Club to learn more about the club itself in Program 1218.

For more information:
• Once Upon a Stocking, P.O. Box 210, 7490 U.S. 60 West, Farmers, KY 40319, (606) 784-1153 or (866) 380-9164

On Location

Once Upon a Stocking

Dave hosts this edition from Once Upon a Stocking, a Rowan County workshop where designer Dawn Quinn and her crew of skilled elves ... er, craftspeople ... make a dazzling variety of Christmas stockings by hand. Each design is associated with a health-related or humanitarian cause, from breast cancer or AIDS research to the Humane Society, and 10% of the retail price of each item sold is donated to a related organization.